Update: "One Million Hoodie March for Trayvon Martin" goes through downtown Syracuse

Lauren Long / The Post-Standard Someone over a megaphone shouts "We are" as the crowd responds "Trayvon Martin" before a march in the boy's honor Friday evening leaving from Armory Square in downtown Syracuse. The march itself was silent. The hundreds who gathered listened to speakers outside the MOST and at the ending point in Clinton Square. At center, wearing the black jacket with her arm raised, is Zanetta Greene, of Syracuse. Lauren Long / The Post-Standard

Syracuse, N.Y. -- More than 1,000 people walked through downtown Syracuse tonight as part of the “One Million Hoodie March for Trayvon Martin."

Martin, 17, was fatally shot Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla., by a neighborhood watch volunteer as he walked home, unarmed, from a store carrying candy and ice tea. His body was found at 7:17 p.m., and that’s when the march in Syracuse started. The march went from Armory Square to Clinton Square.

Participants started arriving in front of the armory building at about 6:30 p.m. They were people of all ages and races, many wearing hoodies like Martin was wearing when he was killed. Many carried signs or had stickers on their clothes that read: “I am Trayvon Martin.”

Before the march began, the organizers of the event — Ciarah Richardson, Ashley Miller and Yaschia Kinsey, who called themselves 3Women4Acause — used a megaphone to lead the crowd in chants of “Who are we? Trayvon Martin.”

“This is not about hoodies and it’s not about dress codes,” Richardson told the crowd. “The ultimate issue is the low value of life people have for each other. . . . Every life matters, no matter their race.”

March for Trayvon Martin in SyracuseHundreds gather in downtown Syracuse Friday night as part of the "One Million Hoodie March for Trayvon Martin" walking from Armory Square to Clinton Square.

Finally, at 7:17, the march began. The crowd went around the circle and walked on Franklin Street. At least one was on crutches with a cast on his broken ankle. At least one other was in a wheelchair. Some used canes to walk, and mothers and fathers carried their young children or pushed them in strollers. They filled the street, and police officers kept cars out of the way until the marchers turned right on West Water Street and headed to Clinton Square. It was intended to be a silent march, and most were quiet until they arrived at the square at about 7:27 p.m.

Then, the chants began again, followed by prepared speeches.

“We have our own injustices in the city of Syracuse,” said Fourth District Councilor Khalid Bey. “It’s unfortunate that we need a crisis for us to come together in solidarity.”

While he said Syracuse police officers have mistreated Syracusans and there have been unexplained deaths in the Onondaga County Justice Center over the years, he called upon members of the minority communities to take responsibility for their own actions.

“In the African-American and Latino communities, there appears to be a lack of respect for life,” he said. “Don’t be a hypocrite and come out here and talk peace, then put a pistol back in your pocket.”

He said parents need to guide their children.

“We have to take care of our children,” Bey said. “I will not depend on the Syracuse Police Department to keep my children in line.”

"One Million Hoodie" MarchHundreds march from Armory Square to Clinton Square to show support for justice in the killing of Trayvon Martin. Minister Mark Muhammad was one of the speakers. Hear the poem he shared with the crowd. Ellen M. Blalock / The Post-Standard

As darkness fell over the square, Minister Mark Muhammad, the Syracuse representative for Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, addressed the crowd.

“Injustice must be met with justice,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do in Syracuse.”

After the speeches ended, organizers passed out candles to parents in the crowd who had lost loved ones, as a symbol of solidarity.

When it was over, Kinsey said she was pleased with how everything went.

“I think it went really well. I was surprised more than 1,000 people came out,” she said. “I definitely think it will make a difference, because Syracuse has never experienced anything like this.”

Earlier today, students at Syracuse's Corcoran High School showed their support for tonight's march.